Kellie Maloney admits she was seconds away from pulling out as Celebrity Big Brother kicks off

Kellie Maloney has revealed to her Celebrity Big Brother housemates that she was just seconds away from pulling out of the show.

Formerly known as Frank Maloney, the boxing manager, Kellie became one of this year’s CBB housemates on Monday night.

And as she came face-to-face with her housemates, Twitter was full of love for her.

‘I’ve never walked in public like this before. I went to a boxing match at the weekend but this is the first time I’ve been in public,’ she revealed. ‘I nearly pulled out at the last minute.’

It was the moment Audley Harrison came face to face with his former boxing coach that really touched Twitter.

‘F***ing hell! So I’ve got to call you Kellie?’ Audley asked as Kellie replied: ‘Yeah if you wanna get paid for your next fight.’

Audley quizzed Kellie on her sex change (Picture: Channel 5)

‘Hats off man. Go hard or go home! I mean s**t,’ Audley continued. ‘So you’ve obviously thought about this for a long time. The thing is, I’m just going to say it, after so long you’ve had to think about it and you go and become a f***ing Kellie?’

Luckily Kellie saw the funny side as Audley added: ‘I mean Kellie? Why Kellie? I’d think of some exotic name just to wind people up!’

‘I’ll tell you why,’ Kellie told him. ‘I’m dyslexic and Kellie was the easiest thing to spell. Very short and sweet.’

Kellie seemed exceptionally nervous before she headed inside the house (Picture: Channel 5)